Ok this has probably been covered bfore somewhere else and either I couldnt find it or I looked right at it and went on. When my son bought his 84 GL the ignition key was still in the switch but it wouldnt release, and to start the car you hav to slowly turn it into the start position. Thats problem 1. Well Wednesday afternoon we decided to go fishing, I started the car andbegan to backout of the driveway when I noticed that the whel had LOCKED and I was heading for the neighbors fence. After fiddling around with the wheel including turning the wheel with the ignition completely off it finally started back up with the steering wheel freed up, its done it at least three more times since then.

 

Whats the deal.......is the cylinder completely shelled? (well thats kinda mute considering that the inner part of the switch tries to come out when you try to pull out the key) I guess what Im asking is do I need to go to Gering (about 35 miles away) and get a JY switch or just pop for the new one and see if the old key will come out so we can lock/unlock the doors in the car. Ive already got to put on a new Inner CV boot this weekend anyways.

 

Sorry just a newbies wonderings

I've been told there is a screw on the backside of the lock cylinder that when it falls out will cause this problem.

I had an 84 wagon that had the same problem.I did the redneck thing and popped the spring out of the steering lock.I know that this isn't an actual fix but it worked.I had it happen to me while at work delivering pizza so I didn't have time to actuallly fix anything.

I had an 84 wagon that had the same problem.I did the redneck thing and popped the spring out of the steering lock.I know that this isn't an actual fix but it worked.I had it happen to me while at work delivering pizza so I didn't have time to actuallly fix anything.

 

Can you reach the spring without taking off the steering wheel? Im gonna try and fix that today along with try to adjust the fuel mixture on the carb to see if that doesnt correct the idle problems as well.